ROUND THE STATES

New Delhi, 20 September 2006

Fifth CM In Six Years

CHRONIC INSTABILITY IN JHARKHAND

By Insaf

Jharkhand has its fifth Chief Minister since the tribal-dominated State was carved out of Bihar six years ago, on December 20, 2000.  This time he is an Independent, first-ever in India to get the CM’s chair.  Thirtyfive-year-old Madhu Koda was sworn-in on Monday last, along with three others (two Independents and one NCP MLA) who had revolted against the BJP-led Arjun Munda Government.  Nevertheless, the big question remains: How long will his Government last in the new State’s chronic political instability.  Koda may have tactically won the confidence vote 41-1 in the 81-member Assembly on Wednesday as he did not name his full Ministry before the floor test. Interestingly, the NDA did not participate in the voting and the lone CPI (ML) MLA voted against him. Given the composition of the Assembly and the fact that he has to restrict his Ministry to 12 Ministers, including himself, Koda’s problems will remain unending.

Bickerings in the Koda camp, comprising eight parties---JMM 17 MLAs, Congress 9, RJD 7, Forward Block 2, UGDPR 2, CPI-ML, NCP and Jharkhand Party one each and two Independents---began even before the new CM was sworn-in.  While the Congress took a measured step by deciding to support the Koda Ministry from outside, the JMM and the RJD decided on extracting the maximum. Both demanded Dy. Chief Ministership for their party.  Moreover, almost all the RJD MLAs are keen on a Cabinet berth.  One of them was quoted as stating after the swearing-in ceremony: “I will take the extreme step if I am not offered a Cabinet post”. Another wanted due place for dalits and minorities.  Against this background, stability of the Koda Government is doubtful, giving credence to the CPM Chief Prakash Karat’s solution: fresh election for the Assembly.

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NCP Spreads Political Clout

Uttar Pradesh and its erstwhile hilly region, now a separate State of Uttaranchal will have one more serious player in the Assembly poll early next year: the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of Sharad Pawar.  The party, which is an important ally of the Congress-led UPA at the Centre and is sharing power with the Congress in Maharashtra, has resolved to spread its clout in all the States and work out anti-BJP and anti-Congress alliances with like-minded smaller regional parties in the States.  It has started its political mission from the poll-bound States of UP and Uttaranchal.  The first step in this direction was to hold its National Convention in the new hilly State’s capital Dehradun last week.  It has decided to field candidates of its own in Uttaranchal and to negotiate electoral arrangements with V.P. Singh’s Jana Morcha and Ajit Singh’s RLD in U.P..

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Setback To NCP In Kerala

Meanwhile, the NCP’s effort to find a stronger foothold in Kerala has run into difficulty. Presently supporting the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the State, the party Chief Sharad Pawar has been trying to work out a merger of the former Congress veteran and ex-Chief Minister Karunakaran’s new Democratic Indira Congress (DIC) with the NCP. But the negotiations, which had reached an advanced stage, seem to be failing. Some of the senior members of the DIC have vehemently opposed the move and threatened to leave the party and rejoin the Congress in case the merger takes place. Even the Left parties have threatened to break their understanding with the NCP in the event of the proposed merger. Some of the members of the DIC have even favoured the merger of their new party with the parent organisation, that is the Indian National Congress.

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Ludhiana City Scam?

Charges and counter-charges between the ruling Congress and the Akali Opposition have become the order of the day in the run-up to the Assembly elections in Punjab early next year. The Akali Dal (Badal)-BJP combine is going all out to exploit the so-called Ludhiana City Centre scam to attack the Congress Government, led by Amarinder Singh, for its alleged involvement in the scam.  Arun Jaitley of the BJP and Sukhdev Singh Badal have filed a 17-page complaint against the Chief Minister, Local Government Minister Jagbir Singh and others allegedly involved in the scam with the Sarabha police, seeking registration of an FIR against them. Amarinder Singh has rubbished the complaint, describing it as politically motivated.  But he has announced that the police would first examine the complaint legally. The State Government has also ordered a Vigilance Bureau probe into the multi-crore real estate scam, involving the sale of prime plots at the Ludhiana City Centre.

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W. Bengal Bypoll Outcome

The results of the four byelections, three for the Lok  Sabha and one for the Assembly, in West Bengal have gone on expected lines.   The ruling Left Front has retained the Katwa and Purulia Lok Sabha seats, the Congress the Malda seat and the Trinamool Congress the Bongaon Assembly seat. The outcome is politically significant for both the Congress and Trinamool Congress of Mamata Banerjee.  Both had agreed not to put up candidates against the other in Malda and Bongaon. Consequently, the late Ghani Khan Choudhury’s younger brother, Abu Ashem Khan Choudhury won Malda and Saugot Roy Bongoan. The poll has strengthened the prospects of future cooperation between the two parties, thanks to Union Information & Broadcasting and  Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi, who worked out the electoral understanding with Mamata Banerjee. Much will, however, depend upon Mamata’s willingness to snap links with the NDA and its BJP

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M.P. Bill On Religious Conversions

An amendment to the Freedom of Religion Act which the Madhya Pradesh Assembly passed recently has run into difficulty.  The Governor, Balram Jakhar has withheld his assent to the Bill and sought information from the Government on the need for the amendment. He has asked for details of religious conversions district-wise over the last four decades. The Congress MLAs had earlier complained to the Governor that the Bill was passed without any discussion in the Assembly.  It is intended to curb religious conversions through force, pressure and allurement. The amendment makes prior permission from competent authorities mandatory and provides for jail terms and penalty for both the priest and the convert.

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Stalemate In Centre-ULFA Talks

The United Liberation Forum of Asom (ULFA) has now put the ball in New Delhi’s court for the delay in peace talks between the Centre and the dreaded underground outfit. It has urged the Centre to create a level playing field for talks by releasing the outfit’s top five jailed leaders.  The outfit has communicated through its People’s Consultative Group (PCG) that the “Government of India must create an air of trust and show eagerness for talks where the issue of sovereignty of Asom would be discussed.”  The Centre, on its part, has made two things clear. First, the talks will be held within the framework of the Constitution of India and, secondly, the leaders will be released only after the ULFA cadres stop violence and other activities.

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Rajasthan Congress In Disarray

The Rajasthan Congress, the main Opposition in the State, seems to be in poor health.  Increasing cases of the party cadres indulging in anti-party activities have been reported in the recent past.  Several of them have been expelled from the party. The latest is the expulsion of partymen from Bharatpur and Alwar districts for anti-party activities. The immediate provocation for action was the attempts by a group to disturb a meeting at Kaman, called to offer tribute to those killed in a water tank collapse last month.  The public meeting was being addressed, among others, by the AICC General Secretaries, Mukul Wasnik and Ashok Gehlot and the PCC Presidents of U.P. and Rajasthan, Salman Khurshid and B.D. Kalla. Stones were thrown at the dias, resulting in commotion and abrupt ending of the rally.---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)